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City Lands Second Lease on Fiber Optic Conduit

Cox Communications leases an underground conduit, installed by the city, to provide broadband service downtown.The agreement is the second of its kind.Tulsa Business Journal previously reported the city’s first lease with TW Telecom Inc., formerly Time Warner Telecom.“By supplying the path for telecom providers, we create a diverse system that eliminates the need for multiple street cuts, preserving our infrastructure for a longer period of time,” said Mayor Kathy Taylor. “And it decreases construction costs for providers, making it more economical and competitive.”The City expects to partner by 2014 with three to five technology providers who will have long-term leases for using the fiber optic conduit.During downtown street reconstruction, the City of Tulsa partnered with Easy Tel of Tulsa to install 4.5 miles of conduit that will be used to house fiber-optic technology for the broadband transmission of voice, data and video.